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The Enemy
'' |image= |series= |production=40273-155 |producer(s)= |story= |script=David Kemper Michael Piller |director=David Carson |imdbref=tt0708795 |guests=John Snyder as Bochra, Andreas Katsulas as Tomalak, Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien, Steven Rankin as Patahk |previous_production=Booby Trap |next_production=The Price |episode=TNG C07 |airdate=6 November 1989 |previous_release=Booby Trap |next_release=The Price |story_date(s)=Stardate 43349.2 |previous_story=Booby Trap |next_story=The Price }} For the 'TOS' episode with a similar title, please see 'The Enemy Within.'' =Summary= The Enterprise responds to a Romulan distress signal to the planet of Galordon Core near the Neutral Zone, and discover wreckage of a Romulan craft on the hostile planet's surface. Riker, Worf, and La Forge transport down, and find the planet's environment interferes with their equipment. They succeed in finding the craft and a Romulan survivor near death. Riker and Worf transport the Romulan back to the ship while La Forge continues to search the wreckage, but ends up falling into a shallow hole. By the time he has climbed out, the weather on the planet has made it impossible to communicate with the Enterprise. Aboard the ship, Dr. Crusher tends to the Romulan, finding she needs to locate a matching donor of ribosomes to keep him alive. When La Forge does not report back and the weather making transporter or shuttlecraft use impossible, Wesley Crusher offers the idea of launching a probe into the planet's atmosphere that would send a neutrino signal on the same frequency as La Forge's VISOR that would lead him to a safe transport point. As they launch and monitor the probe, the Enterprise is met by another Romulan Warbird, helmed by Commander Tomalak who initially believes that the Enterprise caused the wreckage of the Romulan ship on the surface. Captain Picard warns his crew that they must handle the situation delicately to avoid setting off a war between the Federation and Romulan Empire. On the surface, La Forge discovers the probe's signal, but while following its guidance, is captured by Bochra, another Romulan survivor of the crash. Though Bochra holds La Forge hostage, he reveals that he is losing feeling in his legs from the crash. La Forge offers to help him lead them to the beam out point through the VISOR, but soon its power cells falter leaving him blind. La Forge is able to convince Bochra to use his tri-corder as a power source for the VISOR, the combined technology able to direct them to the proper beam out point, while the two work together to overcome their physical disabilities to make it there. On the ship, Worf is found as the only suitable donor for the dying Romulan, but he refuses. Picard forces Worf to put his duty to Starfleet over his honor as a Klingon but it is all for naught when the Romulan succumbs to his wounds and dies. Picard reports this to Tomalak, who is infuriated and prepares to fire his weapons at the Enterprise. As the Enterprise raises its shields, they discover La Forge has reached the beam out point with another lifeform. Picard warns Tomalak they are lowering their shields to beam up the survivors directly to the bridge. When they arrive, Bochra reports to Tomalak that the Enterprise did not cause the wreckage, and that La Forge had helped save his life. Tomalak accepts this and stands down his weapons. Bochra cautiously thanks La Forge for his help and is returned to the Romulans, and the Enterprise escorts Tomalak's ship back to the Neutral Zone without further incident. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Riker ordering the Away Team to split up, after they find the crashed Romulan ship. '''Splitting up allows the team to cover more ground in less time. # Romulan ships being able to enter the Neutral Zone without punishment, but Federation ships coming under fire when they do so. The Romulans are arrogant enough to think that that have more right to enter the zone than the Federation, on account of it being designated the Romulan Neutral Zone. # Bochra clubbing La Forge instead of using the stun setting on his weapon. The weapon may have been rendered inoperable. # La Forge being able to detect the neutrinos from the probe, even though they arn't being deflected by the atmosphere. The probe could have been designed to emit some neutrinos horizontaly, so that they will intersect with La Forge's visor. Internet Movie Database Continuity # When Geordi and the Romulan beam onto the Enterprise's bridge, Geordi is wearing his visor. This is odd, as his visor hasn't worked in a long time on the planet's surface, and the last time we have seen it, it has been connected to the tricorder. It's possible that Geordi reattached his visor while he and the Romulan were waiting to be beamed up, but it's unlikely. The Visor may have been recharged enough by the tricorder for Geordi to put it back on before beam up.'IMDB entry tt0708795 Nit Central # ''Will S. on Monday, July 10, 2000 - 10:30 am: Why is Geordi yelling for help in the cave, after he falls down a shaft? He's still got his communicator. ''Aaron Dotter on Monday, January 22, 2001 - 6:22 pm:'' Worf said at the beginning that the communicators were "disfunctional" so probably Geordi's was too.' # ''Aaron Dotter on Monday, January 22, 2001 - 6:22 pm: Why did they only drop one beacon? Why not drop several in the same area to increase the chance that Geordi would find one? The beacon is of a specialised design, meaning it may not be possible to produce more than one. # Sasha Osaki on Tuesday, March 27, 2001 - 12:02 am: Am I the only one who thinks that even a low intensity phaser blast (directed upwards and away from people, of course) would make a really, really good distress signal? Certainly much better than yelling, I should think. The EM interference would prevent the phaser from working properly. # Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 2:33 am: Shouldn't it be dangerous for Riker, Worf and Geordi to beam into a howling windstorm? How does the transporter put them together again, but keep out all the airborne particles? They are probably protected by the Anular Confinment Beam revealed in The Hunted. # Geordi looks at the remains of the Romulan vessel and sees Ultritium residue, which is amazing, because in Manhunt, the Antideans lined their robes with Ultritium because the Transporter couldn't read it. Does this mean that they didn't need Lwaxana to save the day in that episode? They DID need Lwaxana - the Ultritum in Manhunt was hidden inside the linings of the delegate's robes, but in this episode the residue is reacting to the atmosphere, making it directly visable to Geordi's visor. # Why didn't they just beam the Romulan directly to Sick Bay? The interference may have been too strong at that point. # Why didn't the Federation outposts catch Tomalak's transmission to the Pi? Don't tell me they still haven't been rebuilt after the Borg destroyed the old ones. The transmissions were probably masked, or transmitted on a hidden frequency. # Why didn't Picard separate the ship? The saucer section could have continued to orbit Galorndon Core and wait for Geordi, and the Stardrive section could have taken the wounded Romulan to the Neutral Zone. That would have left the saucer too vulnerable to attack. # Geordi and Bochra are fixing up the neutrino detector and Geordi says, "Let her rip." Shouldn't Bochra say, "Let what rip?" (Or are Romulans well versed in how to speak Geordi-onics?) Bocha may have learnt how to correctly interpret certain Federation phrases as part of his training. # Anonymous on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:56 pm: When the rockslide strikes the Romulan who has captured Geordi, why on earth doesn't he use the opportunity to relieve the Romulan of his disruptor? The Romulan is incapacitated for several seconds. The rockslide may have damaged the disruptor. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 12:06 pm: I think the subsequent scene made clear that Geordi placed his faith in Bochra, thinking that in helping him, Bochra would no longer consider Geordi his prisoner. =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation